S. African president looks forward to hosting FOCAC summit

As co-chair of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC) for the period 2012-2018, South Africa looks forward to hosting the second FOCAC summit which will be a "historic event," South African President Jacob Zuma said on Friday.

This will be the second summit since the inception of FOCAC and the first on the African continent, Zuma said after concluding a working visit to China, during which he attended the military parade held in Beijing on Sept. 3 to commemorate the victory over Japan in the World War II.

Zuma also held bilateral talks on the margins of the commemorative event with Chinese President Xi Jinping to discuss the status of bilateral relations between the two countries.

The South African government will host the second FOCAC in Johannesburg in December this year.

It is expected that all heads of state or government from African countries, as well as heads of regional organizations and multilateral organizations will participate in the summit.

Zuma said China has an historical relationship with Africa and the time has come to give real impetus to the partnership by enhancing industrialization and infrastructure development on the African continent.

As a member of BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa), South Africa initiated dialogue between the BRICS members and the leaders on the continent in 2013, which has now become a practice, Zuma said.

"With the establishment of the BRICS New Development Bank, it will be important to interlink it with infrastructure development on the continent,"said Zuma. Endit